NJCH awards over $43,000 in grants to fund 9 incubation projects throughout the state

September 13, 2018

(Trenton, NJ) – The New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) recently awarded $43,730 in Incubation Grant funding to nine organizations. Incubation Grants help organizations plan, research, prototype, and experiment for public humanities opportunities. From investigating potential components of a new program or expanding efforts to learn more about audiences, NJCH funding supports projects in the earliest stages of development.

Public humanities programming allows individuals to participate in lifelong learning activities and share in the exploration of history, values, culture, and beliefs. NJCH supports and acts as a resource for cultural and service-oriented nonprofit partners as they bring public humanities experiences to the citizens of New Jersey, harnessing the power of the humanities to strengthen communities.

Grants were awarded to:
• coLAB Arts (New Brunswick) $5,000, to conduct interviews and create a theater piece for the project “Banished: Children on the sex offender registry” to inform the national narrative regarding existing perceptions about those on the registry.
• Gloucester County Historical Society (Woodbury) $4,650, to expand prior Woodbury-based Juneteenth events to a countywide celebration of African American history and culture.
• Mile Square Theatre (Hoboken) $4,900, to support preliminary content research for a documentary that explores gentrification in Hoboken through a collection of “Letters to the Editor” published in the text Yuppies Invade my House at Dinnertime.
• Rider University (Lawrenceville) $5,000, to engage HomeFront NJ clients in writing workshop experiences through the National Writing Project @ Rider, allowing participants to expand writing skills to enable the telling of their own stories.
• Rutgers University – Camden, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (Camden) $4,980, to explore the history of Cooper Street through community involvement, including collaborative planning and gathering feedback.
• Rutgers University, Landscape Architecture (New Brunswick) $5,000, to gather and disseminate data about connections between environmental, cultural and political histories of the Ringwood Mines Superfund site and the Ramapough Lunappe tribe.
• Social Justice Matters (Scotch Plains) $5,000, to develop “Dialogue Circles on Race,” a series of facilitated discussions for community members in Union County to explore and address issues involving race.
• Unitarian Society (East Brunswick) $5,000, to gather community feedback on the “Lost Souls Public Memorial Project,” a memorial to 100 people from New Jersey who were illegally sent into slavery in the South in 1818.
• Woodbury Community Pride (Woodbury) $4,200, to engage local audiences in Woodbury Community Pride’s first LGBTQ Film Festival, paying special attention to promoting participation through community conversations after screenings.

“Incubation Grants support the thoughtful preparation of a program before implementation,” said Director of Grants and Programs Gigi Naglak. “The New Jersey Council for the Humanities furthers its mission by supporting organizations in their efforts to bring public humanities programming to New Jersey citizens. We know that it sometimes requires time and resources to ask the important questions, conduct research, and test some of the possibilities before implementing a program.”

As a humanities-focused nonprofit re-granting organization, NJCH awards Incubation Grants from $1,000 to $5,000 to experiment, research, prototype, and consider new models and topics for public humanities programs. NJCH also awards Action Grants, from $2,000 to $20,000, to implement or expand programs. Organizations interested in learning more about NJCH’s grant program should visit the NJCH website.

_________________________________________________________________About the New Jersey Council for the HumanitiesThe New Jersey Council for the Humanities is a nonprofit state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. NJCH harnesses the power of the humanities to strengthen our pluralistic society. We envision a New Jersey that delights in diversity, appreciates that there are no easy answers, and finds joy and understanding in the humanities. We work statewide with cultural and community organizations to bring dynamic programming to the local level.